Bible Commentaries

Matthew 20:23 — except to them for whom it is prepared of my Father. According to the prediction of Christ, these brethren did partake of his afflictions: James was martyred by Herod, Acts 12:2; and John was banished to Patmos, for the testimony of Christ, Revelation 1:9.

Matthew 26:30 — 114:1. When Israel went out of Egypt, &c. 2. The miraculous division of the Red Sea, Psalms 114:3. The sea saw it and fled. 3. The promulgation of the law, Psalms 114:4. The mountains skipped like lambs. 4. The resurrection of the dead, Psalms 116:9. I will walk before the Lord in the land of the living. 5. The passion of the Messiah, Psalms 115:1. Not unto us, O Lord, not unto us, &c. See Schoettgen, Hor. Hebr. p. 231, and my Discource on the nature and design of the Eucharist, 8vo. Lond.

Mark 12:4 — in capite vulneraverunt, in translating the original, wounded him in the head, in which signification, I believe, the word is found in no Greek writer. ανακεφαλαιοομαι signifies to sum up, to comprise, and is used in this sense by St. Paul, Romans 13:9. From the parable we learn that these people were determined to hear no reason, to do no justice, and to keep the possession and the produce by violence; therefore they fulfilled their purpose in the fullest and speediest manner, which seems to be what

Luke 1:65 — Verse 65. And fear came — Seeing what they might have thought a paralytic affection so suddenly and effectually healed. φοβος - This word certainly means in several places, religious fear or reverence; and in this sense it is used Acts 9:31; Romans 3:18; Romans 13:7; 1 Peter 1:17; 1 Peter 2:18; 1 Peter 3:2. The meaning of it here is plainly this: The inhabitants of Hebron and its environs, who were well acquainted with the circumstances of Zacharias and Elisabeth, perceived that God

Luke 15:12 — was irreproachable in his character, and had given no just cause for the son to separate from him, in that case, the civil magistrate fined the son in two hundred puns of cowries." See Code of Gentoo laws, pr. disc. p. 56; see also do. chap. 2: sec. 9, p. 81, 82; xxi. sec. 10, p. 301.

Luke 19:13 — Verse Luke 19:13. Ten servants — All those who professed to receive his doctrine. Ten was a kind of sacred number among the Hebrews, as well as seven. See Luke 14:31; Luke 15:8; Matthew 15:1.Ten pounds — Ten minas. The Septuagint use the original word

Luke 22:19 — Verse Luke 22:19. Took bread — See the nature and design of the Lord's Supper explained in Clarke's notes on Matthew 26:26-29.This do in remembrance of me. — That the Jews, in eating the passover, did it to represent the sufferings of the Messiah, as evident

John 6:22 — side where Bethsaida lay: see the notes on Matthew 14:25; Matthew 14:34, and on Mark 6:45. The Greek word, περαν, says Bishop Pearce, seems to signify in Scripture sometimes on the side of, and sometimes on this side of: see Joshua 5:1. and 1 Macc. 9:34. The Hebrew word אבר abar, signifies by the side: Exodus 28:26, and is translated on this side in Deuteronomy 4:29. It has the same meaning in the Septuagint, Deuteronomy 1:5; Deuteronomy 3:8; Deuteronomy 4:46. περαν, says Vorstius, is the same with

John 9:16 — Verse John 9:16. This man is not of God — He can neither be the Messiah, nor a prophet, for he has broken the Sabbath. The Jews always argued falsely on this principle. The law relative to the observation of the Sabbath never forbade any work but what was

Acts 1:9 — Verse Acts 1:9. He was taken up — He was speaking face to face with them, and while they beheld he was taken up; he began to ascend to heaven, and they continued to look after him till a cloud received him out of their sight-till he had ascended above the region

Acts 9:18 — Verse Acts 9:18. There fell from his eyes as it had been scales — This was real: he had been so dazzled with the brightness of the light that we may suppose the globe of the eye, and particularly the cornea, had suffered considerable injury. The structure

Acts 9:6 — Verse Acts 9:6. Trembling — Under a strong apprehension of meeting the judgment he deserved.And astonished — At the light, the thunder, and the voice.Lord, what wilt thou have me to do? — The word κυριε, Lord, is here to be understood in its proper

Romans 10:1 — and that God was still waiting to be gracious, and consequently, that they might still repent and turn to him. Of his concern for their salvation he had already given ample proof, when he was willing to become a sacrifice for their welfare, see Romans 9:3.

Romans 12:9 — Verse Romans 12:9. Let love be without dissimulation. — Ἡ αγαπη ανυποκριτος· Have no hypocritical love; let not your love wear a mask; make no empty professions. Love God and your neighbour; and, by obedience to the one and acts of benevolence to the other, show

Romans 4:9 — Verse Romans 4:9. Cometh this blessedness - upon the circumcision only] The word μονον, only, is very properly supplied by our translators, and indeed is found in some excellent MSS., and is here quite necessary to complete the sense. The apostle's question is very

Romans 8:24 — signifies the expectation of future good, so it necessarily supposes that the object of it is not seen, i.e. not enjoyed; for to see, in Scripture language, sometimes signifies to enjoy, as in Job 7:7: Mine eye shall no more SEE (margin, ENJOY) good. Job 9:25: My days flee away, and SEE no good; i.e. enjoy no prosperity. Psalms 50:23: I will SHOW the salvation of God: I will give that man to enjoy my salvation who walks uprightly. Matthew 5:8: Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall SEE God; that

Romans 9:29 — Verse 29. And as Esaias said before — What God designs to do with the Jews at present, because of their obstinacy and rebellion, is similar to what he has done before, to which the same prophet refers, Isaiah 1:9: Except the Lord of hosts had left unto

Romans 9:6 — Verse Romans 9:6. Not as though the word of God hath taken none effect. — A Jew might have objected, as in Romans 3:3: "Is not God bound by his faithfulness to continue the Jews as his peculiar Church and people, notwithstanding the infidelity of the major part

1 Corinthians 10:8 — Verse 1 Corinthians 10:8. Fell in one day three and twenty thousand. — In Numbers 25:9, the number Isaiah 24:0; and, allowing this to be the genuine reading, (and none of the Hebrew MSS. exhibit any various reading in the place,) Moses and the apostle may be thus reconciled: in Numbers 25:4, God commands Moses to take all the heads (the

1 Corinthians 2:9 — Verse 1 Corinthians 2:9. But, as it is written — The quotation is taken from Isaiah 64:4. The sense is continued here from verse seven, and λαλουμεν, we speak, is understood-We do not speak or preach the wisdom of this world; but that mysterious wisdom of God, of which